Where to place the blame?

Was it Tony Eury Jr. or was it Dale Jr.? That, my friends, is the question.

Dale Junior's dogs Stroker Ace, left, and Killer, right with his back to the camera, don't care as long as "daddy" brings home bonesmoney every week.

For months, shoot, a year at least, the JR Nation screamed to ditch Tony Eury Jr. and find a better crew chief. Now, with the help of Rick Hendrick, fans get their wish for NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver. Hendrick yanked the daunting duo apart earlier this week.

The pair of juniors have had tempestuous relationship over the last couple years – yelling at each other through the radio during races, countermanding each other’s suggestions in the pits and being just plain cantankerous.

But the next question is, will JR roll over and play possum on the track to say it wasn’t his cuz’s fault he couldn’t win. Of course if it wasn’t the cousin’s fault, that would mean Junior just couldn’t drive well enough to win.

All seemed well during All-Star week, when I visited JR Motorsports. His dogs were hanging around, there was a cool wax-likeness of Junior in the JR store and lots of stuff to buy to provide bonesmoney for the dogs, kibble for the cats and hay and grain for the cows Earnhardt keeps.

But back to the question...

Goodness knows, it couldn’t be the Hendrick equipment. Everyone else in the stable has won – even the “Old Man,” Mark Martin. And Stewart-Haas hasn’t showed poorly on-track with Hendrick equipment under it’s hoods.

There are three choices to place the blame – the equipment (not likely), the crew chief (probably) or the driver (maybe). You make the call.